How good has Josh Richardson been this season? A look at the numbers, plus other Heat tidbits

Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow (20) congratulates guard Josh Richardson after a play during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Miami. The Rockets defeated the Heat 109-101. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

MIAMI — At the All-Star break, the Heat stand at 30-28 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Here are five tidbits of information from the first 58 games of the season …

* Josh Richardson is one of just five players in the NBA who has recorded 70 or more steals and 50 or more blocks this season. The other four players are All-Stars — LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond. Richardson is also limiting players he’s defending to 39.5 percent shooting this season (5.4 percent under their normal shooting percentage). Oh, and he’s averaging career highs in points (13.2), rebounds (3.3), assists (2.9), steals (1.3) and blocks (0.9). Quite the season for Richardson.

* Why is starting center Hassan Whiteside’s playing time in the fourth quarter a topic of conversation? He’s played in 39 games this season, but he’s spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench in 14 of those games. Heat centers Kelly Olynyk (7.4 fourth-quarter minutes) and Bam Adebayo (6.9) are averaging more playing time in the fourth quarter than Whiteside (5.7). Last season, Whiteside played in the fourth quarter in 71 of the 77 games he appeared in, while averaging 7.3 minutes of court time in the final period. Whiteside, who is the Heat’s highest-paid player, has taken a step back in this department.

* The Heat continue to find themselves in a lot of close games, whether it’s against bad teams like the Magic or good teams like the Raptors. Miami has played in a league-high 41 clutch games this season, which is defined by the NBA as a game that has a margin of five points or fewer inside the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Heat have posted a solid 23-18 record in clutch situations, but have struggled recently with a 3-7 record over their past 10 clutch games.

* Over his past 10 games, Heat forward Justise Winslow is averaging 5.7 points on 20-of-63 (31.7 percent) shooting from the field and 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) shooting from 3-point range. But Winslow is still shooting a career-best 39.7 percent on 3-pointers this season, as he made 12-of-17 3-pointers during a 10-game stretch before his current shooting slump. There is one negative stat that continues to follow Winslow, though: Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Heat are 23-39 when Winslow plays and 48-30 when he does not play. It’s unfair to point to one player as the reason for a team’s success, or lack thereof. But those are the numbers.